A pensioner died when she was knocked down by a reversing minibus, an inquest heard.

Freda Sharp, 75, would have been "invisible" to Jeanene Ward as she reversed her eight-seater Vauxhall Caravelle down Harewood Rise, Oakworth, Keighley, last September.

But Coroner Roger Whittaker was told that the tragedy could have been avoided if Miss Ward had used the turing circle at the top of the cul-de-sac instead of attempting to reverse down the road.

Collision Investigator PC Kevin Wetherby told the inquest in Bradford yesterday that shortly after the accident he had successfully used the turing circle despite a parked car partially blocking the way.

PC Wetherby said that Miss Ward's view as she looked over her shoulder would have been blocked by a "forest of headrests" from the three rows of seats behind.

But the inquest was told that at only 5ft 2ins Mrs Sharp would not have been visible through the rear window if she was directly behind the bus.

In a statement given to the police shortly after the accident Miss Ward, a senior care assistant, described how she had dropped her friend off on Harewood Rise before attempting to reverse.

She said: "I thought that I had run over some bricks but then I noticed the lady's legs in the road. I got out and started screaming for help."

A post-mortem revealed that Miss Ward had died instantly from multiple injuries after the mini bus had driven over her thorax.

It is thought that Mrs Sharp, who lived on Harewood Rise, was crossing the road on her way to catch a bus.

Mr Whittaker recorded that her death had been a tragic accident before adding: "The driver of the vehicle reversed down the road which in the view of PC Wetherby was the inappropriate way of dealing with this."